The Tale of Blaze
by SonicLover
Summary: Blaze the Cat, the new character who's going to be introduced when Sonic Rush (DS) comes out. This is my impression of her. Yours may differ, but this is mine.
1. Hello

The Tale of Blaze

Author's note: You'd think, of all people, I wouldn't forget to make some Sonic stories. Well, here's a new one.

About Blaze: Blaze the Cat is NOT a fan character. She is the new character who will be introduced in the upcoming DS game, Sonic Rush. I do not know exactly what she is like ('course, who does?), but it can't hurt to take some creative liberties.

-  
Chapter 1: Hello  
-

The whole story began in a meadow west of Emerald Town. Sonic was going for a jog along the river, when he tripped over something and hit the ground face-first.  
Sonic got up, and turned to look for what he had tripped over. He saw a young female cat who seemed to be in some sort of trance.

"Hello," Sonic said, approaching the cat.  
She woke with a start. "ACK! Who- what- oh, hello. Please don't startle me like that. You nearly stopped my heart. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Blaze, Blaze the Cat."

"Pleased to meet you, Blaze," Sonic responded. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. You should pay more attention to what you're doing; I think I just tripped over your tail."  
"It's not my fault I don't notice what's going around me when I'm focusing my Gold Magic energy," Blaze shot back. "Besides, you're not the first one to trip that way."

Sonic blinked. "Wait. What was that part about the gold something-or-other?"  
"Gold Magic?"  
"Yeah, that's right. I figured by the way you were dressed that you were some kind of mage, but what is this Gold Magic stuff?"

"Allow me to explain. I can harness the power of Gold Rings to utilize certain magical abilities. My mother says it's in my blood. I'll give you a demonstration if you can spare five rings."

With a shrug, Sonic handed some rings over. Blaze counted them to make sure there were indeed five, then clutched them in her hand and concentrated her thoughts.  
Blaze used her free hand to hold Sonic's as she closed her eyes and concentrated even more deeply. Finally, she stopped. She opened the hand she was holding the rings in; they were gone.

This left Sonic a little confused. "Uh … Blaze? What exactly did you do?"  
"I used some Gold Magic to read your mind," Blaze explained. "You love to hang out at Emerald Beach east of here, your best friend is a fox, and you had a chili dog with extra onions for lunch."

Sonic was amazed. "You learned all that just by using this Gold Magic stuff?"  
"Actually, no. I learned that last part by smelling your breath. You have a severe case of halitosis going on."  
"Right. Sorry about that."

"No harm done, just forget about it. You look kind of bruised from how you tripped. There's no way you could've gotten that beaten up by just tripping over my tail unless you were going at … at …"  
"Something over a hundred miles an hour, maybe two. I don't keep track myself, either. Sometimes I wish hedgehogs had speedometers."

Blaze nearly jumped. "A speed like that? I don't believe you."

"Fine," Sonic snapped. "I'll prove it to you." He grabbed Blaze's wrist and started to run. He quickly accelerated to higher and higher speeds, not slowing down for anything.  
Then, Blaze slipped from Sonic's grasp.

Sonic noticed Blaze's absence immediately, and screeched to a halt. The momentum had sent Blaze tumbling head over heels over head, even getting poked in the eye by her own tail a few times.

THUD! Blaze crashed into a tree. Sonic immediately rushed over and retrieved her. "Blaze! Blaze, are you all right?"  
"Ugh … that hurt. Can you give me another three rings so I can heal myself"

He did, and she did, displaying her Gold Magic abilities once more. "Ah, that's much better. Sonic, hold on to me more tightly from now on, okay there?"  
Sonic nodded. "Maybe I should reduce my speed a little, too. It's dangerous trucking you along at a high speed like I was doing there." They proceeded to Emerald Town.

-  
That's all for now. Expect more later. Maybe. 


	2. A Few Friends

The Tale of Blaze

Author's note: "Have a nice, abuse-free day." Too late.  
But seriously, putting grammar issues before the content of a story is like saying that the way a car is painted has a bigger effect on how fast it goes than the type of engine it has.  
On top of that, the tripping thing wasn't exactly the main focus on that chapter. What do you consider the "main focus" of a chapter?  
That said, enjoy the second chapter.

-  
Chapter 2: A Few Friends  
-

"So, Sonic," Blaze asked, "why exactly did you bring me to Emerald Town?"  
"I have a few friends you might be interested in meeting," Sonic explained. "There's Tails. He's trying to put up a satellite dish on his home. He's been wanting to do that for a little while."

The hedgehog and cat approached Tails' house. There was Tails, flying right above his house, adjusting his new satellite dish. "Hey, Tails!" Sonic yelled up, and Tails landed.

Blaze put her hand forward. "Hello. You're Tails, right? Sonic told me about you. I'm Blaze, Blaze the Cat."  
"Pleased to meet you, Blaze," Tails replied, shaking Blaze's hand. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to setting up my satellite dish." He flew up and returned to his work.

Sonic could easily guess what question Blaze was about to ask, and answered it before she could ask it. "No, you weren't hallucinating. Tails uses his two tails like helicopter blades to fly."  
Blaze blinked. "I don't think that's physically possible."  
"Better not mention that to his face," Sonic responded, "Tails is pretty picky about the subject. Take my word for it."  
"I will, I will. Who else do you know?"

In response, Sonic led Blaze up the north road to Holy Summit, and took the bridge over to Knuckles' place. On the way, Sonic dumped some rings into Blaze's hand. "Knuckles will fight with anyone, Blaze, so you'd better protect yourself with some Gold Magic."  
Blaze took the rings. "If you say so."

Knuckles didn't like being disturbed, but when Sonic knocked, Knuckles figured there was no harm in answering, so he came to the door. "What is it, Sonic? And who's the kitten?"  
"Kitten?" Blaze did not like being called a kitten. "I'm no kitten, Red. I'm Blaze, Blaze the Cat."

Knuckles knew a challenge to a fight when he heard one, and threw a punch at Blaze, who ducked it and countered with a Gold Magic energy blast that knocked the echidna to the ground. The two lunged at each other again, but Sonic stopped them. "Okay, that's enough, you two."

Sonic took Blaze aside. "Like I said, Knuckles will fight with anyone. He's got a bit of an ego problem."  
"So I see," Blaze responded. "What's the next stop on the tour?"

The next stop on the tour was an apartment building in Central City, where Amy and Cream were talking to each other. "… and then I just took out my hammer and knocked that robot halfway to Angel Island," Amy was saying just as Sonic and Blaze entered.

Amy noticed Sonic almost immediately. "Oh, hey, Sonic. Who's your friend?"  
"Amy, Cream, this is Blaze the Cat," Sonic explained. "Blaze, those are Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit."  
"Pleased to meet you both," Blaze said.

"Likewise," Cream replied.  
"Same here," Amy added. "So, Sonic, if you don't mind me asking again, are you going to marry me?"  
Blaze stepped in front of Amy. "If you've asked Sonic that question as many times as I think you've asked him, I seriously doubt he's going to say yes."

"Whatever, Blaze," Amy shot back. "Hey, since you're here, would you mind going a few rounds of boxercise with me?"  
"Boxer-what?"  
"Boxercise," Cream explained. "Amy fights to lose weight. She thinks that it'll make Sonic like her if she's fit. I personally don't like it, but try it for yourself."  
Blaze nodded as Sonic gave her some more rings. "Okay. Sounds kind of exciting."

The round of boxercise went rather well. Amy wasn't ready for Blaze's Gold Magic moves, but Blaze wasn't exactly prepared for Amy's hammer moves either. The match was even until Blaze ran out of rings, at which point Amy won easily. "That exhausted me," Blaze said when it was finished.  
"I know," Amy responded. "Wasn't it great?"  
"Great? What are you, nuts? We're both completely worn out!"

In response to this last part, Amy tried to hammer-swat Blaze for a home run, but Sonic dashed off with Blaze just in time, and Amy attacked the empty air. When they were outside, Blaze breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks a lot, Sonic. Amy nearly clobbered me."  
"Don't mention it," Sonic replied. "Come on, let's head for the beach."

-  
Yeah. That's all for now. You know how it goes. I have other stories, you know, so check them out as well. 


	3. Please, tell me about yourself

The Tale of Blaze

Author's note: It's been a while, but I'm still here. Take a look at this. It looks like my story isn't as off as I thought.

-  
Chapter 3: Please, tell me about yourself  
-

Sonic and Blaze lay on the sandy beach together. "You have quite the wacky bunch of friends," Blaze finally said. "I've never met anyone quite like them back where I come from."

"Back where you come from?" Sonic asked. "Where exactly is that?"

Blaze sighed. "I can't be sure, but it's a kingdom called Kettia. My mother is the queen of Kettia, which means that I'll be queen when she's dead."

"Interesting," Sonic replied. "But why did you say you couldn't be sure?"

"Because I can't be sure how I got here," the princess explained. "I was busy polishing our kingdom's treasures, the Sol Emeralds, and there was a big flash of light. When it cleared, I was in THIS world, lying in the middle of a forest. No traces of my kingdom remained. It troubles me …"

"W-Wait a moment. Repeat that part about the Sol Emeralds. Are they anything like the Chaos Emeralds?"

"The what?"

The blue hedgehog laughed a little. "Oh, yeah. There are these things called Chaos Emeralds in our world. There are seven of them, and they come in red, yellow, green, blue, violet, grey, and cyan. When used correctly, they have great power."

"You just described the Sol Emeralds," Blaze exclaimed in disbelief.

"I did? Can you show me one?"

"I wish I could, but I have no idea where they are. They were all in my hands before that light, but when it cleared, they were gone. I feel it's my duty to try to find them, but I fear the worst."

As if that last line was a stage cue, Tails rushed up to Sonic and Blaze. "Sonic! Sonic! You'll never guess what I found while I was on recon in Holy Summit!"

"A mountain lion?" Sonic replied sarcastically.

The two-tailed fox was a little amused by this remark, but not much. "Haha… no, that's not it. It's some kind of jewel. It looks a lot like a Chaos Emerald, but it isn't quite the same shape. Here, I'll show it to you."

When Tails produced the gem in question, Blaze nearly fainted. "That's a … that's one of the seven Sol Emeralds!"

Tails blinked. "Sol Emeralds? Blaze, what in the world are you talking about?"

"I can explain it to you," Sonic responded, "if you've got some time."

By pure chance (and as a convenient plot device), Knuckles had arrived to see if Blaze was interested in another battle, and Amy and Cream were there to visit Sonic. They all sat in and listened as Sonic and Blaze explained everything- about Kettia, about the Sol Emeralds, about the mysterious light that hit Blaze.

"I swear you made all that up," Knuckles said once the explanation was concluded.

Amy silenced the echidna. "Now just a moment, Knuckles. I know Sonic, and he isn't the kind of guy who'd tell fibs. If Sonic says all this is true, then I believe him." Knuckles didn't like being disagreed with, but he held back his anger.

Tails concurred. "All in favor of helping Blaze recover the Sol Emeralds, say aye!"

Six ayes later, the group agreed to meet in Tails' lab to plan a course of action.

-  
I've finally got this story back on track. Now, how about reviewing? 


	4. Planning for Trouble

The Tale of Blaze

Author's note: I may seem a little desperate to do what my critics want me to do, but that's only natural, given how far in the story I've gotten.

-

Chapter 4: Planning for Trouble

-

Meanwhile, in Dr. Eggman's base, the not-so-good doctor was relaxing in his chair with a cup of coffee. An intercom light beeped.

The doctor pressed a button on the arm of his chair. "Come in, Robot Turquoise."

A turquoise robot entered the room and gave Dr. Eggman his report. "Sir, I've just finished spying on subject 'Sonic' and his conversation with some cat we've never seen before."

"Describe this cat to me," Eggman responded.

"Well, she's about Sonic's height, and very cute. She's a light purple color."

"What kind of stupid description is that? Give me some more details!"

"She wears a dark purple shirt with a gold collar and fringed cuffs. Her tail is a little crooked, and her shoes look a lot like Sonic's, only a dark pink color, and fringed just like the cuffs."

"Tell me even more! I want to know as much as I can!"

"Her eyes are a yellow color. She some kind of headdress, and there's a red jewel or something in the middle of her forehead, She also- you know what, Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe I should just show you. She's kind of hard to describe."

With that, Robot Turquoise displayed a hologram of Blaze. Eggman looked her over. "Ah, yes. She seems a little mysterious. Did you hear anything interesting in the conversation?"

"I did. Here, I'll play it back for you."

BEEP! A recording of Blaze's conversation with Sonic began playing. When he heard Blaze mention the Sol Emeralds, he gasped. "Sol Emeralds? There are these Sol Emerald things around? This is something!"

After hearing the rest of the conversation, Dr. Eggman pressed another intercom button. "Robots Orange and Magenta, I have new orders for the two of you. Go see if you can find some of these so-called Sol Emeralds. They're like Chaos Emeralds, but not quite the same shape. Over and out."

He then turned back to Robot Turquoise. "Now, go back and keep a visual input receptor on Sonic and this Blaze character. That is her name, right? It came through in that conversation."

"Affirmative."

"Well, you have your orders. Take Robot Yellow with you, just in case things get crazy."

Robot Turquoise left the room, leaving Dr. Eggman alone for a moment. "This is certainly curious," he said to himself. "This is just a hunch, but I think this Blaze character may actually be noteworthy. I just hope Robots Yellow and Turquoise know what they're doing. Maybe I'll send Robot Red in to back them up. No, I'll wait a while and see what turns up."

-

Nice chapter, eh? A little short, but nice. 


	5. Yes, let's go!

The Tale of Blaze

Author's note: Would you believe- Sonic Rush came out the other day! It's already in stores, but I don't have it yet, and my story is my story, so I feel an obligation to continue.  
-  
Chapter 4: Yes, let's go!  
-

Sonic, Blaze, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and Amy stood on the outskirts of Emerald Town. "Blaze," Sonic finally asked, "about this Kettia place. Did you say it was in another world or something like that?"

"Yes, that's right," Blaze confirmed.

Now even Knuckles was interested. "Who exactly lives there?"

"Well, as I said earlier, my mother, the queen, lives there, as do I. There's also Scholar Hawk, one of the most intelligent citizens of Kettia, not to mention a personal friend of mine. If I was compared to you, Sonic, Scholar Hawk would probably be Tails."

Everyone listened intently as Blaze continued. "There's also Marcus Tiger, the martial arts master. I think he would be able to take down even you, Knuckles, in battle."

Tails stepped forward. "Wait a minute. Allow me to jump in. So far, it seems like my theory proves correct. If you really live in a world parallel to ours, Blaze, then there are many similarities between them. You know, Scholar Hawk and me, Marcus and Knuckles …"

Hearing this, Blaze snapped her fingers. "Ah! I know what you mean. Scholar Hawk researched that subject once. Now I remember it. He said that if even one resident of one world is somehow moved to the other world, such like what happened to me, then that causes a flux between the worlds which …"

"… which sometimes causes changes to one world to be reflected in the other," Tails concluded. "I studied that once, too. Looks like there are surprises wherever you look."

Blaze laughed a little. "Indeed. Come on, those Sol Emeralds won't find themselves."

"And chances are, Dr. Eggman might be looking for them as well," Sonic added.

"Dr. Who?" Blaze wondered.

"Dr. Eggman," Amy explained. "His name is Dr. Robotnik, but we call him Eggman. You'll know him when you see him; he's fat and bald, and has a mustache. He's always up to something mean, and it's our duty to get in the way."

"Sounds like a mean guy," Blaze commented. "I'd hate to have a tyrant like him show up and try to ruin Kettia. …Huh?"

All attention suddenly turned to Blaze. "What is it?" Sonic asked.

"I sense something," Blaze explained, "but I don't have enough energy to figure out what. Quick, Sonic. Four rings."

"Four rings," Sonic confirmed, counting out four rings and dropping them in Blaze's hand one by one. Taking them, Blaze began to focus her Gold Magic energy. The rings were quickly absorbed into Blaze's body.

After a few seconds, Blaze raised her hand and pointed at a bush. "Something about that bush," Tails figured. "I'll go check it out."

Without warning, Tails rushed up to the bush and gave it a strong kick. His foot connected with something hiding in the bush.

A small scout robot jumped out of the bush. It had a yellow symbol of some kind adorning its head. Its cover blown, the robot tried to flee.

Blaze held up two fingers, and Sonic handed over two rings. She used the energy from these rings to trap the yellow robot inside a ring of energy. Try as it might, the robot could not get out of the ring.

"This show's mine," Knuckles decided, jumping forward fists first. WHAM! Knuckles drove the robot's head in with a strong punch. Its systems hummed for a moment longer, then shut down for good.

"Way to go, Blaze!" Tails cheered, high-fiving her. "Oh! Just a moment. I'll be right back." He ran off.

"I wonder where he's going," Blaze finally said.

"Maybe he forgot something," Cream added.

About a minute later, Tails rushed back. He was holding two devices that looked like walkie-talkies. "Blaze, take one of these, and Sonic, take the other," he requested. Both complied.

"What's this about, Tails?" Sonic asked.

"With these high-tech things," Tails explained, "you'll be able to stay in contact with each other at all times. Even if one of you was thrown back to Blaze's world, you'd still have perfect reception of each other."

Blaze clutched the walkie-talkie in her hands. "It's amazing what's possible with technology sometimes. If technology can't do something, you aren't trying hard enough. That's what Hawk used to say."

The group of them all laughed. Knuckles cut the laughter short with a wave of his hand, and walked ahead of the group. "Something wrong, Knuckles?" Sonic inquired.

"I sense a strange energy reading from over in those woods," Knuckles explained, gesturing at a patch of trees in the distance. He would've pointed, but that's kind of hard to do when you're wearing mittens.

As the group approached the woods, Blaze suddenly remembered something. "This is where I landed after that odd flash of light," she mentioned, snapping her fingers. "Remember what I told you guys, about the flash of light when I was polishing the Sol Emeralds?"

"And that must be what you landed through," Amy added, pointing. She was pointing out an odd sphere of light, about five feet in diameter, hovering a few feet above the ground. It was impossible to tell what it was.

Tails snapped his fingers. "Aha! That must be some kind of portal to Blaze's world. I guess you can return to your world anytime, Blaze."

"But not yet," Blaze explained. "I still have to gather the Sol Emeralds."

"Say, Blaze," Cream finally thought to ask, "when exactly did that flash occur?"

Blaze thought about it for a moment. "It was about three and a half hours ago."

Tails nonchalantly checked his watch. "I guess that was about one in the afternoon. Wouldn't hurt to make a note of that time; we might get a clue about how you got here, Blaze."

Sonic stepped back. "Stand back, everyone. I'm going to try to jump through this portal-thing!"

Everyone cleared the way. "Sonic," Blaze advised, "be careful!"

With a short running start, Sonic began to pace at top speed toward the sphere of light. At just the right time, Sonic's feet left the ground, and he curled into a tight ball as he sailed through the air.

Everyone flinched as Sonic entered the portal. Upon contacting it, Sonic appeared to evaporate. The crowd was silent for a moment. Amy was the first to break the silence. "Sonic… I hope you're okay…"

-  
I hope he's okay as well. Then again, I'm the author. It's my job to make sure he's okay. 'Course, I didn't exactly do that job in that other story, did I?  
And yes, Tails has a watch. How else would he always know how much time was left in Sonic Heroes? 


	6. Trouble believing me?

The Tale of Blaze

Author's note: All of a sudden I'm anxious to continue this story. Well, can't be helped.

-

Chapter 6: Trouble Believing Me?

-

Emerging from the white sphere, Sonic hit the floor in a rather rough landing. This wasn't the forest, that's for sure. A figure that resembled a tiger glanced at Sonic skeptically, and next to him was a birdlike figure who didn't feel the same way.

Sonic got to his feet and looked around.

"What… is this place…?"

Seven small pedestals surrounded Sonic's location in a heptagon shape. None of them had anything on them, but they looked like they once did. The stained glass window on the wall behind Sonic showed a picture of someone who looked like an older version of Blaze.

"Excuse me," Sonic asked the bird figure, "but can you tell me where we are?"

"Certainly," the bird responded. "This is the Sol Emerald display room, in Kettia Palace."

Sonic snapped his fingers. "Aha! So I landed in Kettia, eh? Blaze told me all about this place."

The tiger ran up to Sonic. "You know where Princess Blaze is? I knew it! You kidnapped her, didn't you? What have you done with her?"

"Now just a minute, Marcus," the bird interjected. "That's just like you, jumping to conclusions like that!"

The three of them walked outside together. "Kettia seems like a pretty grand place," Sonic finally said. "I must admit, I feel a little jealous that Blaze is the princess here."

Marcus folded his arms. "I _still_ think you kidnapped Princess Blaze, mister… erm…"

"Sonic," Sonic introduced himself. "Sonic the Hedgehog. If you're Marcus, then the bird over there is Scholar Hawk, right? Blaze told me about you both."

"Yes, that's him," Marcus explained. "Now, what did you do with-"

"Marcus," Scholar Hawk interjected, "lay off. Sonic doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd kidnap a princess."

Even though Marcus ignored him, Scholar Hawk turned and spoke to Sonic. "You'll have to excuse Marcus Tiger. Once he makes a decision, it takes a lot to change his mind."

At that moment, someone- one of the Queen's servants, probably- ran up to the group. "Scholar Hawk, the Queen needs your advice."

"Marcus Tiger and I were just getting to know a new visitor to Kettia," Scholar Hawk explained. "Can it wait a little?"

"I'm afraid not. It's urgent. You must come right away."

"Well… can Marcus and the visitor come with me?"

"Hawk, you know the Queen always wants to talk with you in private. You'll have to come back later. Come right away!"

Scholar Hawk sighed. "Well, okay. You two wait here."

As Hawk left, Marcus and Sonic faced each other. Neither said a word for the next several minutes, and they remained silent. It appeared as if they were waiting for each other to act first.

Then it all ended. Marcus slid forward and raised his hand with an intention to karate-chop Sonic's head in half. Sonic was barely able to dodge the move, but it was extremely close.

"What did you do that for, Marcus?" Sonic demanded to know.

"That's for kidnapping Princess Blaze," Marcus hissed. "Now tell me what you did to Blaze or I'll give you another one!"

"But I didn't do anything to Blaze!" Sonic protested. "As far as I know, she did it to herself!"

Sonic attempted to explain everything, but Marcus cut him off. "You're wasting your breath, blue boy! Prove that your load of bull is true!"

As if on cue, the walkie-talkie beeped. "Sonic! This is Blaze. I haven't heard from you since you went through that portal. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm in Kettia," Sonic explained to Blaze, "and I've met Marcus Tiger and Scholar Hawk. Unfortunately, Hawk has stepped away to advise the queen, and Marcus thinks I kidnapped you, and won't believe otherwise!"

Hearing this, Marcus grabbed the walkie-talkie from Sonic's hands. "Blaze! Princess Blaze! It's me, Marcus Tiger! Where are you? Are you being held for ransom? What did the kidnapper do with you?"

Blaze's response was rather calm. "Calm down, Marcus. You've got to slow down and think about things. First of all, I was never kidnapped. I'm perfectly safe. I think my disappearance was a mishandling of the Sol Emeralds, and that's all."

"So if you haven't been kidnapped, then where are you?" Marcus demanded to know.

"Well, I know this sounds strange, but I've been thrown into a parallel world similar to our own. Sonic is from that world. I'd return anytime, but I have to find the Sol Emeralds first. They were apparently thrown to the other world too."

"You would return anytime? How?"

"There's this strange portal that looks like a glowing white orb. Sonic jumped through it, and that's how he got to Kettia."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, there was something in the Sol Emerald display room. So, you were kidnapped by someone from another wor-"

"FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME, MARCUS, I WASN'T KIDNAPPED!"

At that moment, Scholar Hawk returned. "That was fast," Marcus commented, pretending as if that last squabble had never happened.

"The queen only needed to be reminded of how to properly address an envelope," Scholar Hawk explained. "Without her daughter, the Queen has a hard time doing anything."

Sonic laughed a little. "Marcus still thinks I kidnapped Blaze. I think I'd have to pay HIM a ransom to shut up about it."

Scholar Hawk turned and faced Marcus. "Enough of this, Marcus. If Sonic says he didn't kidnap Princess Blaze, I believe him. Now show a little trust."

Marcus finally backed down. "Well, all right. I guess I'll trust him for now. But you should've heard what I was told about Blaze's whereabouts…"

"Really?" Marcus asked. "What was that?"

Sonic and Marcus explained everything together. Marcus tended to exaggerate details and stretch the truth, so Scholar Hawk finally asked Marcus to be quiet and let Sonic tell the whole story.

"So now that that's all cleared up," Sonic finally finished up, "why don't the two of you tell me about yourselves?"

Marcus went first. "Eh, sure. You already know this, but my name's Marcus Tiger, and I'm a master at marital arts. Watch this."

Approaching two rocks sticking out of the ground (Sonic swore there was a pair of rocks just like it back in the forest), Marcus drew back and struck one of them with a well-aimed karate chop. The rock cracked and split in two.

The walkie-talkie practically jumped out of Marcus's hand. "Sonic! It's me, Tails! A rock in the forest just cracked and broke all by itself. It doesn't seem to have been caused by anything… Do you know, Sonic?"

Sonic snatched the walkie-talkie back from Marcus. "Did the rock break right in half, and was there another, similar rock right next to it?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Then that must be one of those flux effects caused by Blaze's presence in my world. Marcus Tiger just broke a rock in half with a karate chop."

"Aha!"

"Hm… Tell Knuckles to break the other rock with a punch."

Putting away the walkie-talkie, Sonic pointed out the other rock and told Marcus and Scholar Hawk to watch it. Suddenly, CRACK! The rock broke in half right down the middle without any apparent cause.

"So the flux works both ways," Scholar Hawk deduced. "We had better be careful; who knows what could cause changes between worlds."

"While that may be true," Sonic figured, "I think we might be able to use it to our advantage. If there's an obstacle here we can't do anything about, we have Blaze and my friends find the same spot in my world, do something, and bang, the flux takes effect and clears the obstacle away."

Scholar Hawk snapped his fingers. "Yes! It would work the other way, too. Your friends get stuck, we do something and get them unstuck with the flux's effects."

Sonic glanced at Scholar Hawk. "You sure know your stuff, Scholar."

"Thank you. I am the Queen's top advisor, and I know more about most subjects than anyone else in the kingdom. I spend a lot of time in my study, where Princess Blaze visits me often."

By now, the group of three was behind the palace. The stained glass window in the Sol Emerald display room was visible, and the light from the portal gave it an eerie glow.

Sonic pointed up at the figure displayed in the stained glass window. "That looks like Blaze. Is that Blaze?"

"No," Marcus explained, "that's actually the Queen. You know that Princess Blaze is the Queen's daughter." Sonic admitted that he noticed the resemblance.

Scholar Hawk showed Sonic and Marcus a map of Kettia. "Look here. This is Kettia's main water treatment plant. It's gigantic, with all kinds of waterways and so on. It looks like an ideal place to start looking for the missing Sol Emeralds."

Marcus and Sonic agreed, and they started pacing toward it.

-

Wow, that was a long chapter. Well, that's all for- wait a minute, I think I hear voices.

"Robot Turquoise reporting. Robot Yellow has been destroyed, and I have found some odd glowing orb in the forest."

"Interesting. What are its coordinates?"

"3895-2913."

"Thank you. I'll send Robots Silver and Pink in to investigate it. Just keep watching this Blaze character."

"Will do, sir."

Oh, that can't be a good sign. 


End file.
